“It was my own willingness that brought me here. I genuinely find this environment fascinating.”

There are three departments — Deck, Engine, and Rating. For Deck and Engine you go through IMU CET or a DG Shipping–approved college (DNS, B.Sc Nautical Science, or B.Tech Marine Engineering). For Ratings, after Class 12 you do a General Purpose Rating (GPR) course at a marine college.

Use the IMU CET rank to get eligible, then apply to a private college for better sponsorship. The government IMU college — sometimes placement is very less.

Different field, different rank — there are three departments (Deck, Engine, Rating), each with its own ladder.

It is never fixed. It depends not only on rank but on the type of ship, the company, the registered country (flag) of the vessel, the charterer, and more. Same rank, different company — completely different salaries.

According to the Indian government, if you spend more than 182 days outside India in a financial year, you qualify as a Non-Resident (NRI) and your foreign income is tax-free in India.

There are MLC rules with regulations on working and rest hours, but as a seafarer you have to be ready for the job at any time. There are watches — either at the bridge during sailing, or at cargo operations when in port.

Contracts depend on rank — the more senior the rank, the shorter the contract. As a Deck Cadet, my contract is seven months.

There is very little personal time to sit and think about all that — time runs fast when you work continuously. For me, yes, in the beginning it feels lonely, but later you adapt to it. We also have plenty of things onboard — games and other activities — to get through the boredom and loneliness.